The abbey of San Michele (Sacra di San Michele in Italian) is a huge abbey built around the summit of Monte Pirchiriano (960 meters high) at the entrance to the Valle di Susa, the largest valley in the Piedmont region in Italy, in North West of the European Alps.

The abbey is the symbol of the Piedmont region and boasts a thousand-year history, as the first buildings of the church date back to 983 after Christ.

It is dedicated to the cult of San Michele, the holy defender of the faith and the Christian people.

Home of the Rosminian Fathers, it is home to an important library with over 10,000 ancient volumes. Members of the Savoy royal family, the kings of Piedmont until the last century, are buried inside the main church of the Abbey.

It is built on a pilgrimage route over 2000 km long that connects Mont Saint-Michel, in France, to Monte Sant’Angelo, in Puglia.

It was used by the famous Italian writer Umberto Eco as a partial inspiration for the famous novel "The name of the rose", from which the famous film was taken.

In this multiinear shot you can see a big part of the mountain range of the Susa Valley, the biggest valley of the Piedmont region, with some of the highest peaks of italy, including the Rocciamelone (3538 mt.), all covered by the January snow.